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Over the weekend, Omar spoke at a Minneapolis event for Minnesota’s large Somali community, of which she is a member. Elected to Congress in 2018, she came to the United States as a child refugee. Her remarks on January 27 also included comments about political tensions within Somalia.
However, they were provided in Somali rather than English. That meant most Americans relied on her translation to find out what she said.in 1 video Omar’s words, widely shared on social media by popular right-wing accounts, were interpreted in part as: They must follow our orders. That is how we protect Somalia’s interests. ”
In part, Omar’s liberal politics and comments have long made her a target on the political right, and such snippets have spread quickly within the right-wing ecosystem. By Wednesday, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) called her out. Resign and called for an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
On Thursday morning, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said: went further. She stood on the House floor and announced that she “intended to introduce a privilege resolution to censure members.” Ilhan Omar from Somalia, Minnesota. ” What is her claim? Omar “said he made treasonous statements at an event in Minneapolis” and said Somalis had asked him to act on behalf of the Somali government.
then green talked He spoke to reporters in the hallways of the Capitol.
“This is an outrageous act that was shared across social media. Many expressed outrage that a member of the U.S. Congress addressed and told people that they represented foreign interests in their role as representatives of the United States. The calls are coming into our office,” Green claimed. “I mean, that’s literally treason! I want her deported. I’d love to have her girlfriend deported!”
Spokespeople for Omar and Greene did not respond to requests for comment.
It is useful to point out that Omar’s reported comments are not treason. Treason requires the United States to assist a foreign government with which it is at war.
It is also useful to point out that the translation of her comments is misleading or inaccurate, as Ms. Omar has argued from the beginning. The Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Minnesota Reformer each had independent interpreters review Omar’s comments and each concluded that the version being circulated on right-wing social media was inaccurate.
Here’s how the Star Tribune compared that translation to the one published on the right.
“My answer was that what we tell the U.S. government, the U.S. government will do. We Somalis should have that confidence in ourselves. We live in this country. We pay taxes in this country. It’s a country where one of your own sits in Congress. As long as I’m in Congress, no one will take away Somalia’s seas. And America is not going to help other people rob us. Rest assured, Minnesotans, the woman you sent to Congress knows you and has the same interests as you. I am.”
The currently disputed translation characterizes Omar’s comments as follows: They just do what we want. It does nothing else. They must obey our orders and that is how we will protect Somalia’s interests…Together we will protect Somalia’s interests. ”
Neither Emmer nor Greene could interpret Omar’s statement itself. In fact, Greene admitted that her attack on Omar was not sparked by her reaching a different conclusion than Omar had offered regarding the comments, but rather by the “outrage” that spread on social media.
Considering the source, this is not surprising. Greene became well-known as a QAnon believer. QAnon was deeply involved and responsive to even the most unreasonable claims of the internet’s far right wing. It’s no surprise that she would use viral social media debates as a reason to remove the House’s punitive powers against Omar — especially those of Greene and the right over Omar’s loyalty to the United States. Considering past attacks.
But we can’t ignore that Greene went further and suggested that Omar should be kicked out of the country for these alleged comments. This is an extreme comment from someone with a similar history of extremism, but it’s still noteworthy. Omar is an American citizen and has been a resident for almost a quarter of a century. But Greene refused to see her that way, instead suggesting that her punishment apply almost exclusively to non-citizens.
Omar is also protected by the First Amendment. Applying government power to ban someone for their comments is a major violation of the intent of that amendment.
Yet here we are. A censure motion is unlikely to go anywhere. Greene is constantly introducing resolutions of censure and impeachment. But especially at a time when the right is focused on the alleged threat of immigration to this country, the extremism of elected officials calling for the expulsion of citizens for believing questionable social media posts. It’s worth identifying.
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